Yemen's Houthis launch missiles at Saudi Arabia after strikes on Sanaa airport

Yemen's Houthis said they launched missiles at Abha airport in south-western Saudi Arabia on Monday in response to air strikes on Sanaa's airport that they blamed on the kingdom.The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which backs the country's internationally-recognised government, said its air defences "dealt with" the missiles and no casualties were reported.The Houthis, who control north-western Yemen and are backed by Iran, earlier accused Saudi Arabia of "blatant aggression", saying it had struck the runway of Sanaa's airport.The strike was claimed by Yemen's government, which said it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.It was the most significant escalation in the largely dormant conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect four years ago.Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa, the capital. The conflict escalated in 2015, after the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule.The fighting has reportedly left more than 150,000 people dead and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with more than 22 million people in need of some form of aid, according to the UN.On Monday afternoon, footage on social media showed plumes of smoke rising above rooftops in Sanaa after the strikes at the city's international airport.